


The More Things Change

by thewindknight



Category: Magic Knight Rayearth
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-07
Updated: 2013-04-19
Packaged: 2017-12-07 17:52:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/751330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewindknight/pseuds/thewindknight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With the new government in place and once-Cefiro stabilizing, things seem like they're going well, until an attack in a weak region of the country shatters the peace.  With an old friend working against them and their own insecurities about their place in the worlds weakening their hearts, the magic knights and co. must figure out how to bring peace to a country full of uncertainties of a people who, for the first time, must understand their own accountability.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fuu

Fuu Hououji looked forward to her weekends far more now than she ever had before. All weekends had been before were books and video games, and as much as she adored them, there was something much more exciting about spending the day with friends. There was something exciting about having something to look forward to with someone else. It was a kind of feeling that had her heart in a rush as she tied her ribbon neatly in her hair and found her nicest pair of shoes to match her dress and waved goodbye to her sister from the front gates of their estate.

“You look nice.” Kuu smiled, her arms full of fresh cut flowers from the garden. “You’re going to see your friends again?”

Fuu nodded, excitement in her eyes. “I should be gone all day, please let Mother know I’ll be home late tonight? I finished studying last night, so it won’t affect my schoolwork, I promise.”

Her sister regarded her with a soft smile. “I don’t think Mama would be upset if you didn’t. You always work so hard.” She held out a lily from the bunch she held in her arms with a giggle. “Whenever you go to Tokyo Tower, you look like an infatuated schoolgirl, you know. Is there someone there aside from your friends?” She giggled again when Fuu blushed and stammered. “I’d like to meet him, someday.”

She waved her little sister off again with a smile and a mention of her favorite pastries. Fuu knew her sister could see through every defense she tried, there was really no use to arguing about a special someone. If anything, the way her sister seemed so happy about it only added to Fuu’s good feeling.

It was a kind of simple feeling that kept a smile on her face all the way to Tokyo Tower and her two dearest friends, who waved at her from their normal meeting spot. She clasped Umi and Hikaru’s hands in hers, warmly but politely.

“I’m sorry I’m late.” Her voice sounded like a bamboo windchime, some days. This was one of them, when she greeted her friends, pleasantly. “My sister stopped me before leaving.”

Umi clapped her on the shoulder. Fuu never expected that and she stumbled forward a step before popping up straight again with a laugh, as her best friends returned the greeting.

“Come on, Fuu, it’s not like we have all the time in the world or anything.” Umi winked at her, knowingly. “Jeeze, keeping us here waiting like that.”

Hikaru, meanwhile smiled widely and shook her head. “We only just got here, too, c’mon!”

Seeing her friends so happy gave Fuu a warm feeling in her chest, a happy glow in her heart. She’d seen them suffer so much for so long and it was so nice to see them acting their ages, laughing and talking as if everything was right with the world.

It was the feeling that felt even better than the rush of wind she felt when they joined hands and opened their eyes in a different world.

It was a wonderful kind of feeling of being accepted. It made her bob of respect to the council they’d appeared in front of sincere and joyful. They sat at a circular table in the garden, the center open, a gap in the end furthest from the palace just big enough for someone to slip through and stand in the middle to get everyone’s attention. Of course, unfortunately, this seemed to be where the girls always landed.

“Good afternoon, everyone.” She waved and watched Hikaru rush to talk to their friends (climbing over the table with Umi following her to try to pull her back and toward the proper way to get out), glad to see she was so lively.

But what really seemed to make her smile about these weekends with her friends was when the prince rose from his seat and approached her. And when he took her hand and bowed gently forward at the waist and kissed it. And the way he looked into her eyes and made her blush every time without fail. “Welcome back.”

That was the feeling that made her heart soar. And he could do it no matter what the situation or how she’d felt before seeing him. Ferio was just good at that. And this is what she contemplated as she followed him, hand still gripped in his, to her seat beside him. She’d managed to refuse the seat for all of eight minutes, arguing that someone more important should take it, like Clef or Lafarga or Lantis until he told her that he’d concentrate much better if she was beside him to keep him accountable. Of course... it hadn’t kept him more accountable at all, as he spent a third of these meetings teasing her with glances and touches, taking her hand or sneaking a wink at her and completely distracting her from what she was trying to do. He knew exactly what it did to her. He liked it, no matter how much she folded her arms and scolded and pouted afterward.

And today looked like it was going to be one of those days, as he slipped his hand over hers on the table, addressing Ascot as he finished speaking from across the table. “There’s been an increase of monsters in the southeastern region, Ascot. Do you know anything about it?”

Ascot, of course, was the first person to ask when it came to monsters. When the girls had first met him, he’d just been a summoner, searching for a place to belong. Now, he was one of the most trusted advisors on the subject--and for good reason, as he was one of the most knowledgeable people about them. Still, he shook his head at Ferio’s question.

“I haven’t heard anything. Do you think it’s going to be a problem?”

“No, I’m sure it will be fine. But I think we should pay a visit at some time in the near future.” And his smile turned to Fuu. “Maybe you three could accompany us.”

Fuu’s face and ears burned bright red as the attention of everyone on the council focused on her. She took a deep breath, ignoring the way Umi elbowed Hikaru and raised her eyebrows. “Actually, I think it could be for the best to go see. After all, monsters are created from the fear and darkness inside one’s heart, correct? Perhaps there is something happening in the southeast to cause fear. It’s still an uncertain climate compared to centuries of peace and stability.”

She shot Ferio a look when it seemed that most people weren’t looking at her anymore. ‘See?’ it seemed to say. ‘I am completely capable of keeping my head even when you look at me with that smile that you always get me with. See?’ And her pride was ruined instantaneously when she saw the worry in his face.

He looked so old when he worried, she thought. His eyes got tired and she knew that he would never age if he didn’t want to but that hardly stopped the way his eyes looked. Like they’d seen decades upon centuries of worry and she knew he’d only been doing this for a little over a year, now. Ruling was aging him. And she didn’t like that at all.

“We’ll hold off for now.” Clef chimed in from Ferio’s other side. “It could just be like the Forest of Silence. Monsters congregated there from across Cefiro. There could be an increase in their population due to something similar.”

Ferio nodded, but Fuu noticed the worry didn’t leave his eyes. “Of course. That’s possible.” Nor did he sound convinced. But this was Clef. He knew what he was talking about, and he wouldn’t lead any of them astray.

She was about to speak out to see if his concern was valid when his hand tightened on hers and he moved on to address Geo about the Autozam’s reconstruction. She blinked at his hand, confused, but didn’t say a word about the monsters for the rest of the meeting. They listened to stories about Chizeta and how they were still having trouble finding enough room to house their inhabitants, let alone grow enough food to feed them. They had started building upward for residencies but the culture didn’t seem accustomed to anything higher than four or five storeys. When Umi told them how her father worked in a building more than fifty storeys tall, Tarta needed it explained to her how architecture of that kind would work without Cefiro’s will to hold it up. Fuu tried to explain the supports as best as she could, but with no examples, she was afraid she wouldn’t get through to the princess. Geo was finally able to do it better and she breathed a sigh of relief.

The hardest part about these meetings were the way no one seemed to understand when she spoke in Earth terms. As much as she tried to hide it, it wore Fuu out and she could see the way it wore Umi and Hikaru down, too. Though everyone could visit Cefiro and there were many trips back and forth between the other countries when peace had been firmly established, no one else had ever been to the world the girls were from.

And sometimes, even though she was always happiest during these visits, at these meetings, it just made her homesick. She loved the way Ferio held her hands and sneaked her smiles and tried to embarrass her, and it made her happier than she had ever been. But sometimes, she just wished she could show him where she was from. She wanted to show him the places she loved. She wanted to spend a day in Tokyo, walking with him by her side and just have a normal date, for once. But without a Pillar or Mokona to establish that route... Fuu had to resign herself to the fact it would probably never happen.

The council meeting was always their first stop when it was happening. They were responsible enough to be able to handle that. But it never lasted too long and, well, the girls were spending weekends and weeks in Cefiro left and right. They were only missing from home for a few moments and of that they were glad. It meant even at the worst of times they could meet at Tokyo Tower for only an hour or two and get a few days rest. Though, to Umi’s frequent groans, Fuu insisted they not try that too often. After all, it wouldn’t be fair to study for a test longer than their classmates had. Trips to Cefiro, she insisted, should be purely recreational and not used to get ahead of their peers.

So really, with Fuu’s brand of encouragement, trips to Cefiro were really more like short vacations where the only work they really had to focus on consisted of council meetings. And they were short enough. She knew what they looked forward to came next. She watched Umi disappear off to the kitchens with a blushing Ascot in tow. She giggled at that--he was her new taste tester and Umi wasn’t very familiar with Cefiran ingredients. She’d gotten lucky so far but she would tell her friends when they curled up in bed at night that that’s all it had been: luck. Hopefully, she’d never poison them. And Hikaru went with Lantis, Geo and Zazu, telling them about school, laughing when they seemed confused. A good-natured laugh, she knew, because Hikaru loved her friends dearly. Clef, she noticed, seemed tired as he retired indoors, Lafarga at his side. And the delegates from Fahren and the Princesses of Chizeta spoke briefly with Ferio before following the once Master Mage inside.

Leaving the two of them alone. He took her hand again, bringing her knuckles to his lips. “You’re more patient than I am,” he smiles at her when he speaks. “These meetings last forever.”

She smiled at him and she was glad to know he could never tell whether she was being shy or sly. It always makes him smile more. “I think you’re not patient enough. After all, we have a few days. It’s important to be responsible, now that Cefiro is everyone’s.”

He frowned, then. She wondered if she’d said something wrong, but before she could ask, he tugged her away to walk the familiar garden trails. “Tell me about your world. What did you do today?”

She loved when he asked this. She loved telling him about her sister and her home and her schooling. She loved telling him about archery practice and piano practice and what a piano was and what lilies were and why, exactly, they had to study math in school. He liked the way his face lit up, especially today, when she told him about her conversation with Kuu.

“You haven’t told her about me?” He was teasing and she knew it, but it was hard not to fall to the bait.

“It’s a little soon, don’t you think, to be introducing that I am dating a prince from another world? I mean it would explain a few things, but if she didn’t believe me, I would never be allowed to come back.”

“Then stay with me,” he suggested, pulling her close. “Stay with me here, and you won’t have to worry.”

For a moment, she was sure he was serious and the red in her cheeks grew brighter. Then he leaned down to kiss her hair and pulled her further along the path.

“Come on, before they start wondering where they are and ask me to do more work.”

She put it out of her mind, for now. All her worries and her woes. Clef knew what he was doing, Ferio was just tired, things were the same as always--they would be all right, she was sure. As she followed along almost stumbling after him (he moved so much faster than her in the woods), she put things out of her mind and tried, unsuccessfully, to get that feeling back.


	2. Ferio

Ferio’s new life had come with a lot less free time than his old wandering swordsman days. Some days this stressed him out. Some days, this pushed him to tease the people he cared for most. Today was one of the latter.

Fuu’s visits seemed impossibly rare for their frequency. So, of course, he loved to tease her most. She sat prettily and politely on the bench they always came to, so far from the main parts of the gardens it seemed more like a small forest. It was something they could both appreciate, with Ferio napping and Fuu jotting down notes about Cefiro’s flora and fauna. She always mentioned something about a camera. Weird Earth technology. Of course, she was never too pleased when he called it that.

So, of course, when he sat heavily beside her, as if he had walked many miles, he sighed deeply. “Your Earth writing is so weird, Fuu. How do you make sense of any of that? Box with lines and a thing sticking out, weird spiral thing--you’re making it up as you go along, aren’t you?”

She frowned at him. He loved the way she frowned when she was annoyed. She looked so serious even though he was only teasing. She took everything so seriously, though. He wanted her to lighten up. Clearly that wasn’t happening today, though, as she set her pencil down in her notebook. “If you’d take the time to learn, I’d teach you how it works.”

“But why? You’re always here, I’m never there. You should learn how to write like we do. Here, let me see.” He snatched the pencil from her lap, leaning over her to write in the book. He could practically feel the way the heat rose to her face from how close he was to her. He struggled to keep a straight face, trying not to show that he’d planned to embarrass her. She flustered so well when she didn’t know he was trying to fluster her. He kept close a few moments, listening to the way she was trying to hold her breath before finally drawing back, pencil still in hand. “There.”

What was written on her page looked like a secret language children might develop. A cross between that and the Latin alphabet, if only because of how many different characters there were. She tilted her head as she examined it. “What is it?”

“Your name. Or as close as I can get to it. Ho-oh-jee isn’t easy to to write.” He leaned over her again, writing something shorter. “And that’s mine. They start with the same sound, so similar characters.”

He liked the way she examined it, and took the pencil from his hand, to copy it. The way she wrote had a kind of delicacy and grace his own writing couldn’t have. He wondered if everything she did was graceful, or just most things. She was careful, too, asking him how certain characters were formed. He smiled when she managed her own name. He didn’t think he could learn his in her language.

“Ask Clef if he can teach you. His writing is better than mine, anyway.” Ferio watched her put her book in her bag, then fold her her hands in her lap. “I think he might like a student who pays attention once in a while, too.”

And then the way Fuu looked at him ruined any joy he had. She was worried and it was obvious in the way she’d tightened up when he mentioned the Master Mage’s name, and in the way she clenched her fists in her skirt. He lifted a hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. 

“What’s wrong?” He didn’t move his hand from her face just yet, brushing his fingers down the line of her chin. “You can tell me.”

“Clef-san... he’s been acting strange, hasn’t he?” When she spoke to him, her eyes locked on his shoulder, rather than his face. She bit the inside of her lip, and it was easy to tell she wasn’t entirely comfortable making the observation. “If a place like the Forest of Silence is being created, shouldn’t we at least look into it?”

“We will,” he assured her with the gentlest tone he could manage. “You know how much we love this world... that’s why there are places like this.” He gestured around them, to the tall green trees, to the ground speckled with sunlight, and the sound of water nearby. He knew she could hear the way the birds chirped in the higher branches. “We love Cefiro, and we will make sure no harm comes to it.”

“But we’re the Magic Knights. Can’t we do anything to truly protect this place even in times of peace?”

Her eyes, he thought, could have been the saddest eyes he’d ever seen had he not known Emeraude. Big and green--beautiful when she smiled, but so sad when she thought like this. Even when she acted happy, he could always see the way sadness got to her eyes. And all he ever wanted was to make that sadness go away. But this time, as so many times before, he was helpless to lift that feeling.

“You were the Magic Knights. Now you’re Fuu and Umi and Hikaru. I know how much you care for this place, but it isn’t your duty to protect it anymore.” He wasn’t helping. He tried a different approach, winking and kissing her cheek just where her hair brushed it. “Let us try to save the day for once. What kind of country is Cefiro if its own ruler can’t protect it?”

Fuu’s back straightened and her face flared red. It was a good way to distract her, he knew. That was another thing he loved about her. He brushed a thumb across her lower lip, asking the same silent question he always asked--could he kiss her?

And as always she pulled away a little, shaking her head. “Not... not today. Something just doesn’t feel right.”

He couldn’t help but be discouraged but he smiled at her, pulling her a little closer so she could rest on his chest. The way she closed her eyes and smiled made him happy enough. He liked feeling her against him, warm and small, but strangely durable, and liked hearing her breathe, little delicate breaths, and liked seeing her smile like that, a fragile smile, but a real one, happy to be with him.

It was a compromise, being with her. It was easy for thethem to recognize that they were total opposites and an unlikely pair. He craved physical attention, but she shied away from it. She was responsible, but he was a free spirit. It was a balance. He’d come to think of it in the past months as more than that though.

He liked to think in moments like this that they needed each other. He needed her to keep him grounded and aware of the situation. He needed her to be a good prince. And she needed him to tell her it would be all right, to ease her worries. She needed him to remind her how to be a young lady from another world.

So he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, trying not to wonder how something that felt this terribly breakable had survived all she did, and let her rest. “I’ll make sure things turn out all right, Fuu. Just try not to worry.”

He watched a single brown, dry leaf from what were supposed to be ever-green trees hit the grass of the forest floor ten feet away, and he was glad her eyes were closed.

♠♠♠

The palace halls were sometimes too vacant and empty. Ferio wasn’t accustomed to having so many people in one place while it was till so... quiet. The forests were alive, even if he was the only one in them. Monsters and spirits roamed them freely, and even the plants were alive. But as he stepped through the high-ceilinged, stone-walled hallways of the palace, looking for the people he trusted most to advise him, Ferio felt alone. Stone, he mused, was always silent.

He’d left Fuu at the rooms she shared with her best friends, saying he had work, but he’d be free after they ate and he’d spend time with her then. The way she smiled again worried him, but that’s what this meeting was about. Fuu was smart and much better at knowing when to be concerned. He thought she might have been a better princess than he a prince, but he shook the notion from his mind. Fuu had enough similarities to his sister without applying that one as well. Besides, he couldn’t think of any day he’d be willing to put pressure this heavy on her.

He wished he could say he was surprised when he reached his study and found Lantis, Geo and Ascot waiting for him. He wasn’t, though, giving a sort of smirk at them all, but there was no humor in his eyes.

“Let me guess.” He crossed the room to lean on the heavy white-wood desk and watch them. “The girls told you something wasn’t right?” He almost laughed at how in tune the three girls were. “Fuu brought it up to me, too. We should talk to Clef as soon as we can.”

“They’re right.” Lantis had a kind of stare that made Ferio uncomfortable no matter what the situation. It was dark and it reminded him of Zagato, but he was one of the people Ferio knew he could trust with his very life. “Fears have always been in the hearts of Cefiro’s people, but a surge of monsters could mean something more serious than just worry over the rebuilding process.”

“Besides,” Geo added, “in a world like this, you have to trust your gut, right? Seems like the girls have it together when it comes to that. Peace is only here because of Hikaru’s wish. We owe them to at least confront Clef about it.”

“The world’s different now.” Ascot waited his turn speaking, but the edge of worry on his voice was enough to make everyone in the room attentive. “We’re all in charge of Cefiro. Before if we worried there might be a monster or two, but now if we end up scared, the entire world could end up falling apart.”

Ferio nodded. “I know. We have to make sure everything stays stable--and that’s why I think we should send a scouting mission south after talking to Clef, no matter what he says. He’s been around a long time--longer than any of us. It makes sense he’d be more rooted in the old ways.”

“He won’t be happy with you.” Ascot frowned again, looking almost like a child about to do something wrong.

“What can he do? I’m the prince of Cefiro, and if so many of us are concerned, it will only be to ease our minds, right?” And to ease Fuu’s mind, he thought to himself. He hated to see those sad eyes and her worried frown. “If we’re right about this, we’ll be prepared. If we’re wrong about this, even better, we’ll go back to the restoration.”

There’s a hesitance before Lantis made a sound of agreement. “Lafarga should lead the mission. He’s taken great care to scout the rebuilt world. He’s more qualified than any others to protect anyone he should find in trouble, as well.”

“But we’ll talk to Celf _first_. This will go over much easier if we at least have his blessing.”

Ferio felt in that moment as if his shoulders would break over the weight of his decisions. He thought of a time when things were easier and he wished he could say that he was happier then. He wished he could say that he wasn’t worried now, when the restoration of his world had only just begun. He wished he could say that he was optimistic about the scouting mission they were planning. He wished a lot of things, but it was with a heavy heart that he mapped out the plan.


	3. Fuu

For all the time the girls spent together, Fuu was sometimes still surprised at how much of their time in Cefiro they spent apart. Weekends at home were always spent side by side, and their evenings in Cefiro were full of the warm familiarity of each others’ company, but during the day, she, Umi and Hikaru had very different lives.

Umi, she knew, spent most of her time in the kitchens. Not all of it, of course, but enough of it that if Fuu went looking for her, it was her first guess. This morning her guess was right, at least, as she found Umi bent over a cake, one of the best cooks in the castle explaining a recipe to her. Her hair was tied back in a scrunchie, and an apron with cartoon kittens covered her clothes. She remembered when her friend had brought it from home. She’d said it was cute and she always baked her best when she wore it. Kind of like a good luck charm. And hey, she’d giggled, if she hadn’t made anyone sick yet, it was doing its job.

Umi looked so concentrated on what the cook was telling her, Fuu wondered if she was trying to memorize everything. It would have been easier if her friend would write things down, but every time Fuu suggested it Umi grumbled that notes were for school and this was _vacation_.

Fuu knew her best friend’s exasperation was well-intentioned, so she never let it bother her. It was Umi, after all, who had to memorize every new ingredient and every amount that went into every cake. She’d eventually learn to be practical. But for now she was busy, so Fuu peeked her head in, gave a wave, and let her get back to her baking.

Hikaru, of course, was much harder to find. She could’ve been anywhere from the gardens to the library to wandering the halls. For all Fuu knew, she wasn’t even in the castle. But it was her luck today, that Hikaru was spending time with Eagle.

He gave her a quiet hello (she didn’t think she’d ever be comfortable hearing someone else’s voice in her own mind), alerting Hikaru to her presence. The redhead rose from her seat, asking Fuu if everything was all right, but Fuu nodded an affirmative.

“I’m going out. I’ve said goodbye to Umi-san, but I wanted to let you know.” Fuu smiled as brightly as she could for her friend, before turning to Eagle. It was only polite, after all. “Are you feeling any better, Eagle-san?”

 _Much,_ he responded, his voice (if you could call it that) cheery. _Hikaru was telling me about the cherry blossoms in your world. She says the three of you are starting your next chapter of education soon. She says you passed the exam for a very prestigious school._

Fuu went red around the ears, glancing at Hikaru. “I just did my best. After all, my family and friends have been cheering me on. I had to get the best possible score I could.”

 _Still, a very admirable result. Congratulations._ She wondered if he was teasing her before his voice turned more contemplative. _I suppose that’s all we can do--with our friends supporting us, our very best._

_I wouldn’t want to keep you from the prince, Fuu. Enjoy your day._

Another flash of red overcame Fuu’s cheeks and she wondered if she really heard Eagle laughing or if it was just a figment of her imagination. Hikaru examined her curiously, as if wondering why she was so red. Fuu was sometimes very glad at least one of her friends wasn’t so interested in teasing her.

“You’re going to heal people again? Make sure to bring something to eat, okay?”

Fuu smiled and put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “I’m not the one who forgets meals so often, Hikaru-san. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

When she waved her goodbye to Hikaru, she headed to the gardens. She didn’t know when Ferio was going to depart today, or who would be going with them. She did know, though, that Ferio liked to sleep, and she probably had a good deal of time before he would meet her there. She considered once or twice knocking on his door, but she didn’t want to bother him if he was still sleeping.

She let her mind wander as she waited. She wondered for a few seconds, when she sat down at the council table in her normal seat, what Ferio wore to bed. If it wasn’t something very revealing, it probably wouldn’t be a problem to knock on his door in the morning. But the only people she’d seen in their nightclothes in Cefiro also happened to be the only other two girls from Tokyo. When Mokona provided them with clothes in their earlier trips, it was possible that he had created it based on Earth’s clothing. Though she’d seen Ferio very late at night when she had trouble sleeping more than once, he’d been wearing his regular attire. She wondered, then if pajamas in Cefiro were as overly intricate as the normal clothing. Or perhaps, as she knew many people did on Earth, Cefirans didn’t wear night clothes. They could easily opt into wearing underclothes or nothing at all. Realizing _that_ was wandering into inappropriate territory, Fuu pushed the thought from her mind.

Instead, she focused her thoughts on hoping there wouldn’t be very many injuries to heal today. When she went down to the towns with Ferio there always seemed to be something. There was a good side and a bad side to having the ability to heal. Both sides were generally “It’s always useful.” Even outside of war, when Umi and Hikaru’s powers fell to the wayside, thankfully useless, there were always injuries. Children playing and getting hurt. Farmers tending the fields and getting into accidents. The people of Cefiro were only human--there were plenty of injuries caused by fights as well.

When Fuu went to visit, it always seemed like there was something. It wasn’t that there weren’t any healers in the nearby area--it’s just that there weren’t many. And none of them had her power. Fuu had a gift, and she felt it was her responsibility to use it. She liked helping people. She liked that sometimes when she fixed a broken bone a child would give her a hug. She liked the way she felt like she was doing right for people she’d hurt in a way she could never apologize enough for. She didn’t know how many people, hundreds or thousands, had died in the way Cefiro crumbled, and she didn’t even begin to take into account the faries, the spirits and the good monsters that had not made it. She couldn’t fix that, but she could do her best to help with the people who needed assistance _now_.

She smiled a little, tracing her fingers over the intricate carvings of the table, so lost in her thoughts she didn’t notice when Ferio sat beside her. He folded his hands on the table, waiting and watching but she didn’t notice until he leaned over and whispered in her ear.

“What are you thinking about?”

She almost fell out of her chair he startled her so badly. She blinked at him stupidly for a moment or two before shaking her head, bringing her back to her senses. “What do you wear when you go to sleep?” ... That was not what she had planned to answer with. She didn’t know what she had planned to answer with, but this had fallen out of her mouth mostly unbidden. “I-I mean! Where I’m from we wear pajamas--nightgowns or pants sets, mostly, but I’ve never seen anyone in nightclothes here aside from Hikaru-san and Umi-san. I was thinking about visiting you when I woke up this morning, but I didn’t want to bother you if you were indecent. It would’ve been very embarrassing for both of us.”

“Both of us?” He looked genuinely surprised, eyebrows shooting up into his bangs. And then one side of his lips turned up in a teasing smirk. “Well, I’m afraid this isn’t a topic for polite company, is it?” He winked, playfully. “You’ll have to come see for yourself if you want to know.” He didn’t let her respond as he stood from the seat again, offering his hand. “But we’re going to be late, if we don’t hurry.”

“... You overslept.” Fuu tried to keep a straight face, she really did, but Ferio’s sleeping habits were notorious. He hid from Clef and work often enough just to nap that the entire castle knew about his addiction to sleeping. “It’s a pity Cefiro doesn’t have alarm clocks, you could use one.”

Ferio cocked an eyebrow, curious. “What’s a clock?”

“... Oh dear.”

Fuu was thankful that the concept of time itself was universal. She’d already explained to Ferio the idea of seasons before, so it made it a little easier when Fuu spent the majority of the flight (Clef had been kind enough to loan them a monster to fly them down to their destination) explaining the way most of Earth measured time, and how a clock portrayed it. Granted, the way he looked at her made her almost certain he didn’t understand, but he tried. She gave him a lot of credit for trying. It was easier when she broke things down into years and how years were divided. Things were different in Cefiro when the sun hadn’t even factored in for a long time after the death of the Pillar. Even before that, time was divided differently--there were certainly no leap years in Cefiro. But she thought she made her point clear enough to at least get him to understand an alarm clock by the time he helped her off the giant beast.

She thought, sometimes, that his hand was very nice to hold and all educational thoughts left her mind completely for their walk to the main hall where they knew all kinds of people would be waiting for them. It wasn’t easy to get to the palace to speak with Ferio about concerns, and the injured sometimes couldn’t travel at all.

Which turned every visit into a very busy day, but not in a way Fuu minded. She got to meet dozens of new people every time. Most of them were very kind. Today was no exception. She met a farmer, today, who sprained his ankle trying to plant his crops. Without her help, he mentioned, he wouldn’t be able to get back to his field for weeks. She met one of the inn’s housekeepers who’d been attacked by a monster while doing laundry. The woman thanked her profusely and offered her a meal at her home (Fuu had politely refused, she didn’t want to put the poor woman out, but agreed, if she was in the area again, to visit). She met plenty of children, and even more adults. Everyone had a story, and Fuu listened to them all. She loved learning about people.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Ferio, too. For all his irresponsibility and laid back attitude, he seemed to be doing his job well. Surrounded by people, face serious and eyes focused, he really did seem like a prince. Fuu felt heat rise to her cheeks, both proud of him and completely and totally infatuated.

There were only a few people left, now. Most of whom were speaking with Ferio but there were still two people waiting for her help. The first was a little boy with an arm in a sling. She gave him her warmest smile, kneeling to be eye-level with him. “What’s your name?”

“Um, it’s Cooper, miss.” He was shy, his eyes locked on his feet. Fuu thought he might be eight or nine years old... but in a world like Cefiro, she had no idea.

“Cooper-san, how did you hurt yourself?” She took his injured hand in both of hers, wondering if he’d sprained his wrist or broken his arm.

“My friends and I were playing in the stream and I fell.” He unwrapped part of the sling to show her a swollen wrist. “I didn’t mean to, but the rocks were slippery.”

“Don’t worry, I think I can fix this without any problem!” This, she thought, was why she loved her healing magic. When she was a child, her sister had hurt herself badly playing. With a broken arm, Fuu remembered her being absolutely miserable for nearly two months before she was allowed to remove her cast. But with a simple whisper of words and a brush of wind, the boy’s wrist was in perfect working condition again.

The way he smiled warmed Fuu’s heart. He seemed so excited to be back to normal he threw his arms around her shoulders. She laughed with him, glad to make him happy. And when she watched him run off, she turned to Ferio with a real smile. He caught her eye and smiled back.

Without letting the smile fade, Fuu turned back to her last patient.

“What can I hel--”

She barely saw the glint of the knife before a burning pain ripped across her face from chin to forehead. Her glasses had been knocked from her nose and were thrown across the floor. One side of her vision was dark and she felt something hot and sticky running down her face. Realizing it was her own blood, Fuu opened her mouth to scream, only to be cut short by a hand closing around her throat.


End file.
